Okay, I don't know whether I've ever eaten Wheaties and don't know whether they're any good. I'm not a jock and never cared for sports. I'm a lot like Sid.
Tom Hale never comes across as a stalker. He is quite appealing and has a positive attitude no matter what. Well, almost. At one point he finds it hard to go on. He is really believable as someone who could have been the friend of Elizabeth Banks before she became a celebrity. And his explanation of how he knows her, the one actual people hear, is very well done. But he just keeps doing the wrong thing without realizing it. And yet somehow he had a successful career. After all, he seems to know what he's doing and has confidence whether he should or not. I won't say exactly why I think he was a success, but he did have an office and a secretary.
At least I think he had a secretary. Sarah Goldberg (how many Sarahs did this movie have? Three actresses and one character!) had a brief but memorable role. Hoe DID she get this job? She's never shown working except when she delivers an envelope to Sid and even then it's like, "Why am I the one doing this? I shouldn't have to do ANY work. I'm special." But maybe what she's doing on her cell phone is work-related. And my description of her was longer than all her lines put together.
Sarah number two was Becky number two in "Roseanne" and then played a different character on that show. I've seen her in a couple of other roles. But I liked her better in those roles. While I thought she looked familiar but didn't know why, here she was cold and unfeeling. A good performance, probably, but a very unappealing character.
Sarah Burns was the awkward girlfriend, a perfect match for this man.
David Walton was the voice of reason and the stable, mature brother.
This movie had several memorable characters. Paul Walter Hauser played another appealing loser with a positive attitude who got his law degree online. The man had so much enthusiasm. And so funny whenever he had a victory. "Oh, wow! So that's what it's like!"
And Sugar Lyn Beard was his wife. Perfect name, even if her parents didn't give it to her. I don't know if they did. But so sweet you can't stand it. No, actually quite appealing, even with crying babies.
Danielle Brooks was the very nice waitress.
I got concerned when things started getting depressing, but I promise things get better. This movie could have really taken a dark turn, but that's not what happened.
I wish there had been better music. I seem to be watching a lot of movies lately where people don't have the musical taste that I do. The Penn reunion must have been for graduates of an era when music was terrible. Why should I expect anything different? And yet I see mature responsible adults but hear what sounds like a frat party.
Elizabeth Banks wasn't in the credits. That disappointed me. I now check each movie on imdb before watching it (just to see if I saw it or make sure I have the title right before reviewing) but I made the mistake of looking under her credits after I saw her name in the brief summary on my DVR. I like her as the gorgeous game show host with an attitude and I've seen her in some good movie and maybe TV roles, including an evil stepmom. But she does appear in some provocative sexy photos on Facebook.
It's a worthy effort and one you won't likely regret.
